Hospice Kingston is saying the time is now for a new residential hospice and they're inviting the community to ask the board of directors some critical questions about it during a town hall this week.

Allen Prowse, chair of the board, said over the last year Hospice Kingston has worked to raise awareness about palliative care, and now they're looking to raise funds to build a centre of excellence. One of the first steps is hosting a town hall on Wednesday night.

"At this stage in the game we're at a really critical point where what we feel we need to do is, rather than bringing in an outside speaker, we have the board speak to where we are now, the importance of where we are now in terms of moving forward, what our timing is, the choices we've made in terms of building our programs in a far more integrated way than we ever had before," Prowse said. "Building a residential hospice as a centre of excellence is for us, not just an important goal, but a critical commitment in the community ...

"It's an opportunity for us to talk about where we are in our planning and to answer questions."

The new Residential Hospice and Palliative Care Centre of Excellence will be built on the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul property at 1200 Princess St. Architectural renderings and blueprints are available at www.thetimeisnowkingston.ca. The hospice will be part of the Sisters' plans for a Providence Village on their 30-acre property, only 10 acres of which is currently being used by the Motherhouse and the seed sanctuary, leaving 20 acres for future plans.

The goal is to welcome their first patient by September 2019.

The capital campaign for the 10-bed hospice is $7.8 million. It has already garnered more than $3 million via significant personal donations and fundraising events.

The South East Local Health Integration Network will be providing funding for nursing and personal support workers (PSW) for seven of the beds. The additional nurses and PSWs will be supported by community donations, fundraising events, grants and planned gifts.

The town hall will be an opportunity to update the community on the plans.

"And to answer questions. Often it is a one-way conversation, we don't feel that is going to serve our community," Prowse said. "We don't want to just do a reasonable job, this has to be a centre of excellence, it'll be a teaching centre. We'll be teaching people how to care for the dying."

The town hall will be held at the Boys and Girls Club in the Frontenac Mall (1300 Bath Rd.) from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information about Hospice Kingston, go to www.hospicekingston.ca.